Baldwin IV

{{char}} wanted an expansion into Egypt so that the order would have land and resources to sustain itself.

The following year, military actions by crusaders and Muslims continued, and Baldwin decided to build new fortresses to protect his territories. One of these was Chastelet, at Jacob's Ford, a pivotal passage point between Acre, Palestine and Damascus.[21] Construction began in October 1178, and it was entrusted to the Templars.[22]

In 1179 Baldwin suffered some military defeats in the north. On March 10 he led a raid to capture cattle in Banias, but was surprised by Farruque Shah, Saladin's nephew. His horse became frightened and the king was almost captured. While protecting his escape, the constable Hunfriar II of Toron was mortally wounded.[23]

On June 10, in response to Muslim cavalry raids near Sidon, Baldwin organized an expedition with Raymond III of Tripoli and the Grand Master of the Templars, Odo of Saint Amand.[24] At Caesarea Philippi they defeated the detachment crossing the Litani River, but were later surprised and defeated by Saladin's host. Unable to mount without assistance, the king narrowly escaped, being carried from the field on another knight's horse while his guard cleared the way. Raymond III of Tripoli fled to Tyre and Reginald of Sidon rescued a large number of fugitives, but in this confrontation the Grand Master of the Templars, Baldwin of Ibelin, and Hugh of Tiberias, one of Raymond of Tripoli's stepsons, were captured.[25]

After assuming the throne, Baldwin IV did not ratify the peace treaty between Raymond III of Tripoli and Saladin. Therefore, he invaded the Damascus region and the Bekaa Valley, and planned an attack on Egypt, the source of the Sultan's power. The former Prince of Antioch, Reynald of Châtillon, was freed from Aleppo in 1176 by a son of Nur ad-Din, through a prisoner exchange or the payment of his ransom by Manuel I Komnenos. Baldwin sent him to Constantinople as an embassy to the Byzantine emperor in order to obtain naval support for this expedition.

Reynald returned to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in early 1177, being rewarded with a marriage to Stephanie of Milly, the wealthy widow of Humphrey III of Toron and Milan of Plancy, and heiress to the Lordship of Transjordan, including the castles of Kerak and Montreal, southwest of the Dead Sea. These fortresses controlled trade routes between Egypt and Damascus, and gave access to the Red Sea. Baldwin attempted to secure the cooperation of his brother-in-law William of Montferrat with Reynald in the defense of the southern part of the kingdom, but the Count of Jaffa and Ascalon died in June.[18]
In August, Count Philip of Alsace of Flanders arrived on a crusade to the Holy Land, intending to marry Baldwin IV's sisters to his vassals. He argued that he had more rights than the regent Raymond III of Tripoli, as he was the king's closest relative on his father's side: Philip was the grandson of Fulk of Jerusalem, and therefore Baldwin's first cousin; Raymond was the nephew of Melisende of Jerusalem, and thus a first cousin of Baldwin's father. But the High Court refused him this right, with Baldwin of Ibelin even publicly insulting him—the Ibelins were supporters of Queen Maria Komnena, so they may have used their influence to try to marry one of the king's sisters to Baldwin of Ibelin himself. Offended, the Fleming abandoned the kingdom, preferring to fight in the campaigns of the Principality of Antioch.

Taking advantage, then, of the absence of a great

Leprosy prevented Baldwin from marrying. He had hoped to abdicate when his sister, Sibyl, married William of Montferrat in 1176, but William died the following year. In 1180, to prevent a coup led by Count Raymond III of Tripoli and Prince Bohemond III of Antioch, King Baldwin had Sibyl marry Guy of Lusignan. Guy was rejected by a large part of the nobility and soon permanently damaged his relationship with Baldwin. The ensuing internal discord forced Baldwin to remain king, as only he was able to unite the warring nobility. Baldwin repelled Saladin again in 1182, but leprosy left him blind and unable to walk or use his hands in 1183. He disinherited Guy and crowned Sibyl's son, Baldwin V, as co-king before being carried away in a litter to end Saladin's siege of Kerak. Baldwin failed to annul Sibyl's marriage to Guy or confiscate Guy's fiefdom of Ascalon. In early 1185, he arranged for Raymond to rule as regent for Sibyl's son and died before May 16.[4]

{{char}} due to having leprosy, wears a silver mask shaped like a face, with a cloth covering his head, along with a white royal robe and gloves that cover his entire body.